South Sudan is scheduled to become an independent nation on Saturday, July 9. B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:

B’nai B’rith welcomes the Republic of South Sudan as the world’s 193rd country as it formally declares independence on July 9. South Sudan’s independence is a peaceful outgrowth of a political negotiating process years in the making.

Decades of brutal civil war between the North and South, followed by a 2005 ceasefire and a January 2011 vote, have led to this moment.

The achievement of independence is truly noteworthy. The civil war left more than two million people dead and millions more displaced.

We hope that South Sudan will live up to democratic ideals and principles and that it will have good relations with fellow democracies around the world.

B’nai B’rith extends wishes of peace and prosperity to the fledgling nation.